A storage area network (SAN) may be a network of various linked devices including, for example, disk arrays, tape-backup systems and other related devices. SANs may be used to consolidate storage resources in a computer network. Storage consolidation is the concept of centralizing and sharing storage resources among numerous application servers. A primary benefit of storage consolidation is increasing efficiency in managing total storage capacity of the computer network. Management efficiency is increased by centralizing management of all storage resources through a single interface. Additionally, cost savings are achieved through storage consolidation because fewer personnel are required to manage the storage capacity of the computer network. Further, storage capacity utilization may be optimized by allocation of storage capacity to specific application servers as needed.
In order to realize the benefits of storage consolidation, information relating to the storage performance of the devices in the SAN may be collected. The information may be in the form of performance data that may be used to monitor and analyze the storage performance of the devices. The collected information may be used at a central location in order to optimize the overall storage capacity of the computer network, manage unpredictability in storage performance and prepare for upgrade changes to the SAN.
A data collector may be used to collect the performance data for disparate devices in the SAN. Performance data collection in current systems is typically tied to the particular types of devices in the SAN. Three common device types include host devices, data storage devices and interconnect devices. Extending the functionality of the data collector to collect performance data from new types of devices in the SAN would require major changes to the data collector. For example, functional characteristics associated with the new device types must be specifically coded into the data collector, resulting in a significant amount of code duplication in the data collector since devices in the SAN typically share common functional characteristics. Therefore, the current systems and methods involved in extending data collector functionality to include new device types in a SAN are inefficient and redundant.